St Mary's Hall tenants delighted with funding boost

The tenants of St Mary’s Hall in Northgate Street have expressed their delight at the news that a quarter of a million euro has been granted towards its refurbishment.

Westmeath County Council will receive €1.69m from the Community Recognition Fund, the largest portion of this (€1.1m) going to project in the Athlone Moate Municipal District.

The Community Recognition Fund is a major initiative designed to specifically support communities across the country that are hosting people from Ukraine and other countries.

In a statement issued by Cllr Frankie Keena, Paddy Beaumont from Athlone Karate Club welcomed the funding and stated that a wide range of improvements are required in the hall to cater for the large number of people using the building.

"This building is the hub of community activities within the town and over the winter months it can be very cold," he added.

It's hoped that the funding will help address issues like inadequate heating, draughty windows, security, better fire escapes, etc.

Kieran Burke from the Gateway Project, working with young people, was also delighted to see this funding approved for the building as the demand for the wide range of the excellent services provided within the building is constantly growing.

"We need to upgrade the facilities to cater for the varied demand," he said.

Another successful recipient was Wansboro Park who get €150,000 for improvement of the well used amenity, part of which is being used by the construction company working on the new bridge.

"The local community have been campaigning for this amenity park to be upgraded following years of it been used as a building site," Fianna Fáil Cllr Frankie Keena explained.

"I submitted a signed petition from twelve local residents association to the council which outlined their requests. This allocation last week of €150,000 towards the park will now be a huge help when making a case to achieve their aims," added Cllr Keena.

He expressed his delight that so many worthy projects in the Athlone and Moate have secured grant aid under this funding stream.

"The Department requires that 60% of all this funding is spent by next October so it was important to identify projects that are achievable within a tight timeframe," he ended.